dammit...I will have to make a return tripOriginally Posted by carlosdetweiller
Opening in 2011!I forgot to ask, is there a souvenir shop?
dammit...I will have to make a return tripOpening in 2011!I forgot to ask, is there a souvenir shop?
Promise me you'll always remember: You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.
Bob - most of the pictures in this thread are a couple of years old, already. We all know your collection is still expanding, so I was wondering whether (or not, of course) you'd be willing to upload some new material? I'm very curious how the King Wall and back room have evolved...
Dude, that is the finest looking room and collection I think I have ever seen and I mean no offense to anyone else here.
That should be in "Better Homes" or something!!!! Just breath taking. Reminds me a lot of my home back in N.Y. (Ahh the good ol days), only I had a home theater down there.
Did you design it yourself or hire some one in? Also I love Barrister Book cases, I keep my collection in those.
Just way cool, Sir!!!
28 in 23 (?)!!!!
63 in '23!!!!!!!!!!
My Collection: https://www.thedarktower.org/palaver...ion-Merlin1958
The Houston Astros cheated Major League Baseball from 2017-18!!!! Is that how we teach our kids to play the game now?????
Thanks for the kind words. It's truly been a labor of love building, arranging and displaying the books and artwork. The design is all mine and happened as much by accident or necessity rather than according to a master plan. I just started adding bookcases as I needed them and stacked them to best display the paintings. The big rug in the middle has been one of the last (and best) additions. It really finished the room off nicely. Thanks again!
Yes, this collection never ceases to amaze and inspire. I'm also going to be bold and take the opportunity to 'bump' my request from a couple of posts upstream:
Bob - most of the pictures in this thread are a couple of years old, already. We all know your collection is still expanding, so I was wondering whether (or not, of course) you'd be willing to upload some new material? I'm very curious how the King Wall and back room have evolved...
They look pretty much the same. A few new pieces of artwork here and there but I think I have posted individual pics of all the artwork.
Okay, thanks! In that case I'll just get all fuzzy and warm inside (as Matt would say) over the old pics.
I guess this is as good a reason as any to go add a bunch more to your collection.They look pretty much the same. A few new pieces of artwork here and there but I think I have posted individual pics of all the artwork.
Probably the least interesting is the back wall where there are some built in bookshelves, cabinets, etc. On the left: top row - miscellaneous hard to classify books (mostly trade editions), middle row - Signet/Plume DT books, proofs, etc., bottom row - later trade editions.
On the right: top two rows - all of George Beahm's books, bottom row - various reference books and some Carl Barks (Donald Duck, Uncle Scrooge) books.
On the shelf is the computer where I spend WAY too much time looking for books to buy and talking to you guys.
Just dropped back by here to drool... lookin' at all that artwork always gets me a bit damp.
anytime I start thinking to much about my little room of books, I just click on your thread and get myself back to reality.
But hey.... this time I think I "might" be able to one up the master...
unless you are holdin' back on us, I think I might have more computer than ya.... (all those high dollar books and art....what the heck is up with that antique tube screen? ---- ah... must be worth a lot as an ANTIQUE, right?)
Sure is Brice.
Reminds me of Kevin Smith in "Live Free, Die Hard".
Sir Boomme? Do you have the "Old School" for the coming "Zombie Apocalypse"?
J/K
28 in 23 (?)!!!!
63 in '23!!!!!!!!!!
My Collection: https://www.thedarktower.org/palaver...ion-Merlin1958
The Houston Astros cheated Major League Baseball from 2017-18!!!! Is that how we teach our kids to play the game now?????
Nah... actually... I log into the dt.com site on each screen...
then I pull up the "BOB collection" thread on each one...
then I do a full sceen view on all 6 screens... each screen containing a different view of Bob's basement library.
Then... I sit back in my chair, and play like I'm Bob... admiring all my fine acquisitions.
I've decided that it's the closest I'll ever get to being the collector Bob is. It's saved me tons on buying books.
playing "VIRTUAL BOB" is much better than "Zombie Apocalypse"
one question Bob... do you ever sit in your basement naked while admiring your collection?
just want to make sure I'm getting into the role fully...
No. If you want to, though, it is OK with me. I think it is called "artistic license."
LOL Ok I get it makes perfect sense now. BTW Xnay on the Naked-ay!!!Nah... actually... I log into the dt.com site on each screen...
then I pull up the "BOB collection" thread on each one...
then I do a full sceen view on all 6 screens... each screen containing a different view of Bob's basement library.
Then... I sit back in my chair, and play like I'm Bob... admiring all my fine acquisitions.
I've decided that it's the closest I'll ever get to being the collector Bob is. It's saved me tons on buying books.
playing "VIRTUAL BOB" is much better than "Zombie Apocalypse"
TMI!!!!!
28 in 23 (?)!!!!
63 in '23!!!!!!!!!!
My Collection: https://www.thedarktower.org/palaver...ion-Merlin1958
The Houston Astros cheated Major League Baseball from 2017-18!!!! Is that how we teach our kids to play the game now?????
Long story about that computer. It was the first one I ever bought (in 1996) and a friend talked me into buying a Mac. I bought a custom book collecting program made for Macs from Jerry Parmer of Parmer Books in San Diego. I loved that program and it ran on a Macintosh application called Hypercard.
Anyway, I couldn't find a similar program for PCs and even if there was one I wasn't sure how to export Mac data and import it to a PC. I'm not really a computer guy. So I kept that ancient Mac for years solely to keep track of my collection. I had nearly 4000 entries and really didn't want to start over but I was beginning to exceed the memory capabilities of the old Mac when I generated long lists. I thought about buying a new Mac with more memory but the newer Macs do not support the Hypercard application so I was really stuck.
Finally I called Jerry Parmer and he said to get a program called FileMakerPro for my PC. I sent him my book database from my Mac on a Zip disc and he transferred it to a CD formatted for PC and I then imported the data to the FileMakerPro program on my PC and I have been in computer heaven ever since. This was about one year ago. The Mac and the ugly monitor have since been retired.
The solution may have seemed simple to people familiar with computers but I puzzled over the problem of exporting/importing data from different programs and different computer formats for many months/years. I didn't have a CD burner on the Mac and it only took floppy discs. I was worried I might be stuck with that Mac forever. But I finally got it and now think that FileMakerPro is a fantastic program for collections. I was pretty relieved when I got the 4000 entries on my PC running in a very nice new program.
Nice basement! In my basement I have only foodso normally, Im very jealous! Awesome!
One of my favorite short stories is "One For The Road." Besides being a good read it is one of the most collectible short stories if one wants to collect other appearances besides NIGHT SHIFT. With only one or two exceptions the individual appearances of this story are either extremely difficult to find or have some oddball fact associated with them that makes them very interesting (at least to me).
It's not a hard story to find. All one has to do is pick up any old paperback of NIGHT SHIFT and it is right there for the reading. But collecting the individual appearances can leave a collector frustrated and shaking his head. Getting them all leaves a collector with a real sense of accomplishment.
Over the next several hours or days I'll pull some examples from my collection that I find interesting. And if I miss anything or make any mistakes ya'll feel free to add and/or correct me.
The story was first published in MAINE magazine in the March/April 1977 issue. IMO this is without a doubt the single hardest magazine with a King story to find (well maybe The Salt Hill Journal with "Dino" is harder). I searched for years before I located a copy. It was pure luck but I had to buy a lot of 50 magazines on eBay to get this one. The seller wouldn't break up the lot and I didn't want to inquire too directly or he might have realized what he had and tried to raise the price or sell it individually. I had to play it pretty close to the vest.
I'm not sure why this one is so hard to find. This is the second issue. I have some other issues from 1977 but no other years. I am pretty sure it lasted only the one year or less. I have a feeling it was promoted mostly in the Bangor area. At any rate it seemed to have a very low and geographically limited distribution.
The next time the story saw print was in 1978 in the first anthology of King's stories NIGHT SHIFT. Other than it being one of King's more difficult books to find in collectible condition (and often pretty expensive) there isn't a lot to say. The book, both the tall proof and the first edition, is one of King's hardest Doubleday publications to find.
It is easy to tell a first edition from a book club edition.
But, according to some dealers/collectors, Doubleday sold out of first editions (or sent too many to libraries or whatever) and clipped the "book club edition" notation from the inner flap, stuck on a price sticker and sent them to retail outlets. These are sometimes mistakenly referred to as first editions but are nothing more than altered BCE's.
Compare to a true first edition inner flap.
The paperbacks are pretty common but getting one in nice condition with the "eyes" lining up perfectly (not this copy!) can be difficult.
The story didn't see print again until 1985 in an anthology for young readers called YOUNG MONSTERS, edited by Asimov, Greenberg and Waugh, published by Harper and Row. For a long time I could not find a hardcover of this anthology. I finally found an ex-lib copy and you would have thought I had won the lottery. I was pretty pumped. Now there are a few ex-lib copies on ABE but the one on the left in the picture is the only copy I have ever found that is NOT ex-lib. Easily one of my favorite anthologies in my collection since I looked so long for it. Even the paperback copies are somewhat scarce in the first printing state (on the right).
In 1986 a small Maine press, Lance Tapley in Augusta, Maine published a nice (and somewhat scarce) anthology called STRANGE MAINE, edited by Waugh, Greenberg and McSherry. I'm pretty sure this was only done in paperback. This one isn't too tough to get. A few copies are on ABE but it is not all that common. The proof (on the left) is the only one I have seen.
In 1987, DAW books published "One For The Road" in VAMPS: An Anthology of Female Vampire Stories, edited by Greenberg and Waugh. Only done in paperback this is perhaps the only appearance that I don't find very interesting.
One of my favorites. VAMPIRES: TWO CENTURIES OF GREAT VAMPIRE STORIES, edited by Alan Ryan and published by Doubleday in 1987. The King appearance of "One For The Road" appears ONLY in the proof edition (on the left). It is not in the finished book (right). The final anthology is almost always found as a book club edition. It is pretty scarce as a retail trade edition.
According to my notes from Stuart Schiff: "This fine book was to have included King's "One for the Road," but the master presented everyone with his usual complications making it impossible to include the tale in the finished book."
Next up in 1995 is THE VAMPIRE OMNIBUS, edited by Peter Haining and published in hardback by Orion (UK) and Chartwell (US). The interesting thing here is that the story is titled "A Return to 'Salem's Lot" rather than "One For The Road." Subsequent paperback editions of this title came later.
Jerad Walters included the story in 2004 in his lavish production of 'SALEM'S LOT under the Centipede Press imprint. There are several states of this book. Deluxe leather, black numbered, red numbered, unnumbered, etc. Stu Tinker also bought several unbound text blocks and bound them in different styles.
OK. Well I was 46 years old when I ordered LEGACIES from Cemetery Dance. I'm now 60 years old. I got a refund when I was 56. One day it will include "One For The Road." At the present time the only state published is this proof.
If the book ever gets published King's story is supposed to be accompanied by this neat pen and ink drawing by Erik Wilson.
Last year (or was it the year before?) Pete Crowther announced an illustrated version of "One For The Road" that was only going to be available to subscribers of his quarterly magazine. It was NOT supposed to be sold separately. He enticed a few suckers (me included!) to subscribe. When the promotion didn't go as well as he had hoped he offered to sell the editions separately. These are really nice books and illustrated by James Hannah. There is a signed (by Hannah only) version slipcased and limited to 100 copies and an unsigned edition of 500. These have LOTS of pretty cool illustrations.
Lastly, AFAIK, is the ill conceived and totally unnecessary SECRETARY OF DREAMS 2. I think that the proofs are all that are out now.
To my knowledge this represents the publishing history of "One For The Road." There are some later printings and paperback printings of some of the anthologies that I didn't mention but I think this hits all the high spots. I think the publishing history is the most interesting of any of the other short stories. Comments and corrections are welcome.
Very nice and a great story too. I'm looking for that one, but I have doubts I'll ever find one except accidentally.
John
One for the Road
Great way to show the publishing history, and I like your comments!
I've got everything there but the Maine magazine, you are right it's
impossible to find!
-K
Great read - amazing items!
THANKS!!
sk
Thats a great story, really enjoyed it!
Loved the story Bob. A true education from the master himself.
Ralph Mulleins
Cumberland VA
I'm curious to know why you consider The Secretary of Dreams, Volume 2, ill conceived and totally unnecessary. Does it not meet the standards of the first volume or is it because it just didn't have to be done?
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